What goes into making a cookbook

On
this blog we've previously discussed bits and pieces of the
cookbook publishing process. We've spoken to editors, writers,
ghostwriters, and others about their roles in the lifespan of a
cookbook. Now, in a series on Plate online, the authors of The Adventures of Fat Rice - Abe Conlon,
Adrienne Lo and Hugh Amano - tell us, from
start to finish, how a cookbook is made.

When the pair first decided to write a cookbook, they had many
questions about the process. "How does it happen? What are
the steps? Do you need an agent? Can you write it yourself? Who
pays the photographer? How much money does the chef make? When does
all the fame and fortune happen?" Plate and the authors outline
each step of the process in a nine-part series.

In addition to outlining the various hurdles that must be
overcome to get a cookbook made, this series introduces us to the
people who made it happen for Conlon, Lo, and co-author Hugh Amano.
It provides a fascinating glimpse into the mysterious (to
outsiders) world of publishing. One of the people we get to meet is
Amy Collins of Squid Ink Publishing, the authors' agent, who
champions the book.

We also learn about Aaron
Wehner, senior vice president of Random House, who
oversees Clarkson Potter, Ten Speed Press and Harmony Books. Wehner
loves cookbooks, and has a long history in the culinary publishing
sphere: he has been with Ten Speed Press since 1997.Bon
Appetit recently called Wehner "one of the seven
people who hold in their hands the future of
food."

Even if you already regard cookbook writers in high esteem,
reading the series may give you a new level of respect for the
authors, agents, editors, and publishers who work to put together
the thousands of cookbooks that are published each year. The
fascinating insights of the behind-the-scenes efforts puts the
process into perspective.